Alabama

South Alabama places four on All-Sun Belt football team

MOBILE, Alabama -- After helping the University of South Alabama football program end the regular season ranked second in the league in total defense, four individuals from that side of the ball earned all-Sun Belt Conference honors on Wednesday.

South Alabama senior linebacker Jake Johnson (42), shown here making a sack earlier this season, was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference first-team defense on Wednesday. Johnson, the first player in school history to earn first-team honors, is joined by three other teammates on the All-Sun Belt team -- Alex Page (second team) and B.J. Scott and Enrique Williams (honorable mention), (Photo by Mike Kittrell)

The quartet was led by first-team selection Jake Johnson, the top tackler in the SBC; Alex Page was voted second-team all-Sun Belt, and both B.J. Scott and Enrique Williams picked up honorable mention recognition. Voting was conducted among the league's 10 head coaches and selected members of the media.

It's the first time in four seasons of competition that the Jaguars were in a position to earn all-conference accolades.

Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior from Fredericksburg, Va., is the only individual in the conference averaging double digits in tackles after posting 131 total stops in the Jags' 13 contests this fall. The inside linebacker also stands third in the SBC with 15 tackles for loss after recording at least one in each game, and was credited with three sacks and six quarterback hurries his final year. Johnson paced the squad in stops on seven occasions this season and made 10 or more stops five times, both the highest totals on the team.

Page ranks fifth in the league with six sacks -- a school season standard -- and eighth with 11½ tackles for loss, as he finished his junior year with a career-best 64 stops; that figure was fifth on the team, and the most among USA's defensive linemen. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Prattville native became the first player in Jaguar history at the position to post a double-digit tackle total after recording 10 in an Oct. 20 victory over Florida Atlantic, while he led the team in stops for the first time with seven at North Texas on Nov. 10.

A 5-foot-11, 205-pound safety, Scott ended the fall third on the team with 84 stops, which included six behind the line of scrimmage. The senior from Prichard added two interceptions, three passes broken up, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery as well. Scott posted four contests with 10-plus tackles, including leading the Jags in the category with a career-best 12 in the season finale Saturday at Hawaii, while in Sun Belt action he is tied for 15th with 6.5 stops per outing.

Williams ended his junior season with a career-high 105 tackles -- he stands seventh in the conference in stops per game -- with six behind the line, as he recorded 10 or more stops in four games and led the Jags in the category on five occasions. A 6-foot, 235-pound Mobile resident, Williams was credited with a career-best 12 tackles at No. 23 Mississippi State on Sept. 22, a total he matched Oct. 13 at Arkansas State in USA's first-ever conference road contest; he would go on to post a double-figure total in each of the next two league outings as well.

The Jaguars allowed 383.7 yards per contest this season, and they also ranked third in the league against the pass. The unit paced the Sun Belt in red zone defense and was second in opponent third-down conversion percentage allowed as well.

USA completed a two-year transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level this fall, and will be eligible for the conference championship for the first time in 2013.